


train boy

by sunsetblurs



Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Kinda, M/M, Not really lovers though, Strangers to Lovers, Trains, Waiting Rooms, but they'll get there maybe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:34:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21889780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunsetblurs/pseuds/sunsetblurs
Summary: Kunhang has a hard time accepting that his train got delayed, but Ten helps him pass the time.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten & Wong Kun Hang | Hendery
Kudos: 18





	train boy

**Author's Note:**

> if by any chance you want to help me pay rent, you can send me a [coffee](https://ko-fi.com/sunsetblurs), i would be eternally grateful <3

“Oh, fuck you,” Kunhang muttered under his breath when he looked at the board and saw that his train was now delayed by 120 minutes instead of the 100 he already got used to. He knew that the board didn’t do anything, it was just there to pass the information, but he still had to direct his anger at something. So – unfortunately for the board – it became the object of Kunhang’s hatred. 

He begrudgingly walked back to the waiting area and plopped down on the bench – an extremely uncomfortable one – and sighed over-dramatically. His mind was filled with curse words and he was sure he’d actually cast a curse on the whole train company if he had the power to do so. 

His initial plan was simple; get home, read the materials he needed, go to sleep, read it again in the morning and go take the exam. But now he was stuck on an uncomfortable bench, the battery on every electronic device he owned was running low and he was about to be stuck here for at least another hour and a half. 

One of Kunhang’s bad habits has always been talking to himself, and it was a habit that was twice as hard to hide when he was angry. “I should have been in the train, everything was supposed to go according to the fucking plan,” he managed to whisper – luckily – but it wasn’t that hard to hear him if you were close enough. 

“But it’s not going according to the plan, so what’s the point of whining about it?” a voice next to Kunhang said and Kunhang was convinced he’s actually gone mad at that point. Not only was he talking to himself, but there was another voice in his head actually replying. 

Kunhang, already having given up on his sanity, decided to indulge his own insanity and actually replied. “I don’t have anything else to do besides complaining, you know that,” Kunhang spat back, not bothering with being quiet at this point; he was already going crazy, what was the point of hiding it now. (Realistically, Kunhang was just sleep deprived and he missed his cat, but he wasn’t in the right state of mind to see that.) 

“And how exactly am I supposed to know that, train boy?” okay, but for why was his own brain calling him a train boy? He wasn’t even on the train, that was the main issue there. His brain was mocking him, wonderful. 

Despite not really caring anymore, Kunhang decided to look around before giving his brain a long rant about how calling him a train boy is just plain mean. Upon moving his head to the left, everything suddenly started making a lot more sense. There was a man sitting next to Kunhang, looking at him as if he was expecting an answer to something, and Kunhang successfully came to the conclusion that it wasn’t his brain calling him a train boy, it was this man – a stranger Kunhang had never seen before in his life. 

“You were talking to me this whole time,” Kunhang supplied unnecessarily, only confusing the man who nodded at him, albeit he looked like he wasn’t sure if he wants to keep talking to Kunhang. 

“That’s how conversations usually work to the best of my knowledge,” the man was clearly mocking Kunhang, but the latter didn’t care about anything at that point, so he let the man have his fun for now. “You look so tense it actually hurts my back to look at you,” despite his words, the man didn’t sound mean at all. It was as if he wanted Kunhang to snap back at him; he wanted them to bicker. 

“No one’s forcing you to look at me, sir,” Kunhang intentionally used the word sir even though the man next to him didn’t look much older than him, if he was older at all. 

The man didn’t say anything at first, but Kunhang saw the corners of his lips raising slightly. “I don’t know,” the man finally replied, acting as if he’s making the hardest decision of his life. “I think I can handle the pain, you’re too pretty not to look at,” now, Kunhang wasn’t a stranger to flirting, he himself indulged in it more often than not when he went out with his friends, but this was a whole new territory. It was only the two of them and there was no alcohol around; Kunhang wasn’t used to flirting like that. 

He gave himself a moment to really look at the man then. He noticed that he’s good-looking when he first turned his head around, but he didn’t really inspect it more. He looked like he’d be close to Kunhang’s height if they stood up, his hair was black, but Kunhang could see what looked like an attempt at blond highlights. 

“You’re awfully flirty,” Kunhang noted then. He wasn’t completely against the distraction this stranger could offer considering the train was only getting delayed more and more every few minutes. 

The stranger just winked before moving a bit closer. In any other situation, Kunhang would probably be weirded out and he’d tell the man to kindly fuck off, but he really didn’t care today. “You’re awfully tense,” the man said, imitating Kunhang’s tone. “My name’s Chittaphon, but feel free to call me Ten,” the stranger – Ten – introduced himself. 

“How do you get Ten from Chittaphon?” Kunhang most probably butchered the name completely, but he tried his best and Ten didn’t seem to take offence, so Kunhang didn’t bring it up. 

“That’s a good question that I never bothered to ask my parents,” that made Kunhang chuckle; maybe getting stuck at the train station won’t be as much of a disaster as Kunhang initially thought. 

“Are you gonna tell me your name or do I keep calling you train boy?” Ten asked after a while and only then Kunhang realized that he didn’t bother to introduce himself. 

“My name’s Kunhang, please don’t call me train boy again,” even after finding out it wasn’t his brain trying to mock him, the nickname still didn’t sit well with Kunhang; it only reminded him of the biggest downside of his week. 

But it seemed like Ten enjoyed riling people up (or maybe just Kunhang, who knows). “Okay, train boy,” he said, looking in front of them all nonchalant, but the little smile on his face gave him away. He knew what he’s doing and he was enjoying every second of it. 

Kunhang rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly, but decided not to give Ten any proper reaction since that would only fuel him more. “You sitting here means you’re also stuck waiting for the same train as me,” even despite the two hour delay, the train station they were at was a very small and insignificant one, so that particular train was the only one that was supposed to be there at that time. “How are you so calm about this?” Kunhang asked, motioning his head to the board. 

“I already told you,” _no, you didn’t_. “There’s nothing I can do to change it so why should I let it affect my mood?” Kunhang could see the appeal of just not caring, but he knew he himself would never be able to be so above everything; he was too much of a perfectionist.

“I wish I could just do that,” Kunhang muttered, more to himself than to Ten. 

“Why can’t you?” either Ten was just really stubborn or too oblivious to Kunhang’s distaste for the topic; maybe a bit of both. 

Kunhang wasn’t sure why he’s even considering answering because talking about himself and his feelings was his least favorite activity, but somehow it was different with Ten. Maybe there really is something about talking to a complete stranger being easier than talking to people you're actually close to. 

“I have an exam tomorrow and I need to study for it, but my battery on everything is practically dead, and I’ll have to pull an all-nighter and maybe I’ll fail, and it will be all my fault just like everything bad that ever happens,” Kunhang said all in one breath (he almost died) while looking everywhere but at Ten. Truth to be told, he felt quite pathetic for multiple reasons. 

One, this whole thing started off as Kunhang thinking he’s going mad and he had a whole conversation with _himself_ before realizing Ten’s sitting next to him. 

Two, he just told a stranger how he feels about himself which he doesn’t like admitting to anyone. Not _even_ himself. 

Three, he was this much of a mess only because a stupid train got delayed when there are people out there dying. 

“This train we’re waiting for got delayed by two hours,” Ten announced as if Kunhang wasn’t aware of that, which only confused the latter because _hello, I just got really vulnerable in front of you, don’t ignore it like that_. "That is a bad thing – unless you’re like two hours late for your train then good for you – but it’s a bad thing, right?” Kunhang just nodded since he was still quite lost as to where Ten was going with this. “The train getting delayed is a bad thing and it’s not your fault, so I guess I just debunked your theory,” Ten looked at him with a smile. 

Kunhang wasn’t sure what to say then. Did he feel better about his existence? Absolutely not. But was Ten right? He was. 

“Look, my laptop is charged and all, so if you want, you can send the materials over and you can study,” Ten offered and opened his bag, not taking the laptop out just yet though. “Or we could just keep talking because you look like you have a lot to say and no one to say it to right now,” he wasn’t wrong; Kunhang really did have a lot on his mind these past few days and not enough courage to say anything out loud. 

Ten was still a stranger and Kunhang shouldn’t be even considering this. He was complaining about not being able to study and now there’s a way for him to solve the issue and actually do what he planned to do, so why was he considering taking up Ten’s offer to just sit there and talk? 

Kunhang knew what he _should_ say, but he’s never been too good at doing what he’s supposed to do. “Why do you want to talk to me anyway?” Kunhang decided to question before telling Ten what he chose. 

“You seem like you need it, simple as that,” everything was _simple as that_ with Ten and that confused Kunhang more than anything. How can things just be _simple as that_? “Your face helps, I like the idea of you talking to me,” Ten added, making Kunhang chuckle a bit. The flirting was a very in-your-face type of thing, but it was refreshing, especially in this situation; it helped to lighten the atmosphere and make Kunhang feel less tense. 

“Even if my face doesn’t have anything happy to say?” 

“Especially then,” Ten looked at him. “There aren’t enough people who would be willing to listen to the ugly shit, I’m here to change that,” Kunhang felt something then; as if he connected with Ten in a way. 

And that was enough for Kunhang to finalize his decision. 

“I don’t know what to do in life,” he started with the summary of everything that’s bothering him. “I’ve been suppressing my dreams for so long that I don’t know how to have them anymore, don’t know what I want,” Kunhang’s told people before – about how lost he feels – but it never really did anything. People felt bad for him and he continued feeling bad in general because no one knew what to say. 

“Start with the little things, Kunhang,” Ten said after a moment of thinking. “You seem like a pretty indecisive person – no offence – so you can’t expect yourself to choose your life path when you’re not even able to choose what to have for dinner,” Kunhang didn’t like being called out like this (he’s been thinking about what to have for dinner since the morning), but besides being creeped out that Ten knew him so well after twenty minutes of talking, he appreciated the honesty. 

“How do I start?” Kunhang was a very unorganized person, that was no secret. He’d always make plans in his head about how his day would go and then he’d go out of his way to not do even the simplest tasks. 

“Countdown from five and do it,” Kunhang snorted at that, but Ten looked completely serious. “Laugh all you want, but it can be really helpful because when you start counting down, your brain doesn’t have that much time to come up with an excuse not to do something and it pushes you into doing it,” honestly, Kunhang didn’t know if that was true or not, but it sounded believable enough, so he nodded. 

“Do I countdown to choose a career path as well or?” Kunhang half-joked, but Ten just rolled his eyes at him, clearly not happy with the question. 

“You’re so impatient and what for?” Ten wasn’t mad, or at least he didn’t look like he was, but Kunhang felt like a few more dumb remarks from his side and he would be. “I said the little things first. Learn how to go days with a plan, then weeks, months and it will come naturally,” once again, Kunhang wasn’t sure if any of that is a valid way to improve his life, but what was the harm in believing it? 

“And if none of that works and a year from now I’m just as lost and also homeless because I couldn’t afford to pay rent anymore?” 

Ten was the one to chuckle then and Kunhang was glad that for once he was able to amuse Ten with something he said rather than Ten amusing himself with flirting. “You can slap me or something, whatever you’re into,” Ten winked. 

“How do you go from deep talks to discussing kinks?” Kunhang wasn’t offended that Ten turned his life issues into a lighthearted and slightly suggestive conversation. If something, he found it intriguing. 

“I personally think that discussing kinks is a deep talk on itself,” once again, Kunhang was intrigued. Ten really seemed like the type of person to be willing to talk about anything with anyone. 

Kunhang decided he liked that. Possibly liked it a lot. 

“How do I find you?” Kunhang asked, confusing Ten. “In a year, when I’m lost and homeless, how do I find you?” 

“Bold of you to assume I’m letting you get lost, train boy,” it was intimate; way too intimate for two people who’ve met barely an hour ago. Ten shouldn’t be saying those things, and Kunhang shouldn’t be believing them, but it felt real. It felt like Ten really cared. 

The waiting room at the train station was probably the last place Kunhang would ever expect he would be making _friends_ at, but it somehow worked for them. 

“So, are you into slapping people around?” Kunhang asked, referring to what Ten said earlier. 

Ten laughed wholeheartedly then, probably not expecting Kunhang to focus on that part of their conversation, and Kunhang really enjoyed the sound of Ten laughing; he also enjoyed the way Ten looked when he was laughing. 

“I’m not against too many things, so I guess you could say I am,” Kunhang could tell his brain is trying to get him to feel shy because of the topic of the conversation, but he didn’t want to stop. He himself was very loud about lewd topics with his friends, so why not apply the rule to strangers as well. “Are you into being slapped around, Kunhang?” 

“Maybe, maybe not, never tried it,” he admitted, not feeling as awkward as he thought he would. Maybe Ten just wasn’t a stranger anymore. 

“We can change that,” Ten raised his eyebrows suggestively a few times and Kunhang just pushed him slightly with a smile. 

“Perv,” Kunhang mumbled. 

“Hey, you’re the one who started this conversation,” Ten defended himself and they both laughed at how ridiculous this whole thing was. 

“Why are you still waiting here?” Kunhang asked after they calmed down. The waiting room was vacant now except the two of them, because everyone just gave up on going anywhere tonight because the now 150-minute delay was just too much for them. “I have an exam, so I don’t really have a choice, why didn’t you leave?” 

“Believe it or not, I didn’t want to leave midway through our conversation,” Ten said and Kunhang realized that despite being oh so incredibly stressed about studying before, he’s been talking to Ten for over an hour now and haven’t thought about the fact he’s supposed to be doing something else once. 

“So what you’re saying is that you’re here just for me?” Kunhang smiled sweetly and batted his eyelashes for a better effect. 

“One hour into knowing me and you’re already fishing for compliments, unbelievable,” Ten said, but it was very obvious that he wasn’t actually complaining. “I really like your company so yes, I’m here just for you,” he admitted without a single hint of dishonesty. 

“I really like your company too, so thank you for staying with me,” it was a little harder for Kunhang to admit it out loud, but it was just as sincere. There’s a big probability that he would have lost his mind if it wasn’t for Ten talking to him. 

“We’re getting on a train together, you’re not getting rid of me anytime soon,” once again Kunhang felt a weird sense of intimacy when Ten looked at him after saying that. 

Kunhang didn’t know how to describe it. It wasn’t just attraction, but it wasn’t love either (he doesn't deny that there might be such thing as love at first sight, but he knew this just wasn’t it); it was a feeling of belonging in a way. Not necessarily belonging _with_ Ten, but having his place _next to_ him. 

And Kunhang was more than okay with that. 


End file.
